Butter-dish



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R. HILL BTTER DISH. *Y No. 259,148. Patented June, 1882.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROWLAND HILL, MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

BUTTER-DISH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 259,148, dated June 6, N1882.

Application led April 17, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROWLAND HILL, of Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented anew Improvementin Covered Dishes 5 and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specifica- Vtion, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a front view, a part broken away to show the mechanism 5 Fig. 2, partial sectional side view.

This invention relates to an improvementin that class of butter-dishes which are provided with a cover, the object of the invention being to make the opening and closing of the cover automatic; and it consists in a stationary dish with a loose cover arranged on ver'- tical guides so as to he moved to or from the dish, combined with weight or weights, Y or other equivalents in connection with said cover, so as to be automatically raised and support the cover in an open position, and the said cover constructed with a holder to receive the butter-knife, the said butter-knife counterbalancin g the weights which raise the cover, so that when the knife is in place it will cause the cover to descend into and remain in a closed position until the knife be removed. Then the cover will ascend automatically, and as more fully hereinafter described.

A represents the body of the dish, .which is attached to uprights B; C, the cover. The dish and cover may be of any of the usual vforms of construction, theirshape or design constituting no part of my invention. vThe uprights B are hollow or tubular, and are connected at the top by a cross-piece, D, also hollow or tubular, and within which is a shaft,a, extending from one upright to the other, and so as to revolve freely, and within each upright a pulley, b, is xed to the shaft. Each upright is grooved upon its inner side, as seen at d, Fig. 3, and from the cover,l on each side, is an arm, e, which extends through the grooves d in the uprights, and from these arms a cord, orits equivalent, f, extends up over the pulleys l, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, and to the other end of the cord a weight, h, isattached, these weights being a little heavier than the cover, so that when the cover is not helddown or secured the weights will overbalance the cover and cause it to rise, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1, and thereby open the dish. On the cover holders c' are arranged to receive the butter-knife E, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. These holders may be similar to those usually employed on butter-dishes, but are applied to the cover instead of to the dish itself. The butterknife E is of sufficient weight, withthe cover, to overbalance the weights h. Hence, when the knife is in its holder on the cover the cover will remain in its closed position, held there by the overweight of the knife; but so soon as the knife or overbalancing-weight is removed, then the weights h come into action and open the cover. Therefore, when a person removes the knife from the cover the cover rises and exposes the butter, and when the knife is replaced the cover closes, its opening and closing being automatic.

I represent the knife E as the removable over; balancing-weight, by the application of which the cover will automatically close, or by the removal of which the cover will automatically open. vention to the use of the knife as the removaneither do I wish to confine my invention to a butter-dish, as the invention may be used for other purposes-as, forinstance, pickles, sauces, &c., or for the many purposes to which covered dishes are applicable.

I do not claim broadly a dish provided with a cover which may be automatically raised,as such, I am aware, is very old; neither do I claim broadly a 'covered dish having the cover arranged to move upon vertical guides on opposite sidesf of the dish, as such, I am also aware, is very old.

I claimv 1. The combination of the stationary body, the cover arranged between vertical guides, the said guides tubular, with a shaft across above the dish carrying a pulley in each of said guides, with weights within said guides con- IOC uprights so as to be moved vertically up and down, combined with a device within said uprights overbalancing said cover, whereby the cover, when free, will be automatically raised, the said cover provided with a holder with a removable counterbalancingfweght, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the stationary body, the cover arranged between vertical guides,

1o the said guides tubular, with a shaft across 1 above the dish carrying a pulley in each of said guides, with weights within said guides connected with the cover over said pulleys, the said cover provided with a holder with a removable countcrbalancing-Weight, substanr 5 tially as described.

ROWLAND HILL.

W itnesscs JOHN GAMIER, ALFRED PEPiN. 

